Protector
by thisiswhereIkeepmyfics
Summary: A oneshot & alternarnative ending based on Saturday's episode. What if there was a reason Iain's first thought when he saw the gun was for Rita to get out?
A fluffy-ish little oneshot inspired by the Riain scenes in Saturday's episode :)

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"Rita get out of here!" Iain's first thought when he saw the gun, when he realised his worst fears were true was to get the woman he loved to safety, his instinct when she didn't move to stand in front of her, putting her between him and the wall.

His heart stopped when she'd stepped out from behind him, desperately trying to convince the boy with the gun not to do anything stupid, he wanted, again, to tell her to leave, to get as far away from this chaos as she could but the boy seemed to be listening to Rita, she seemed to be getting through to him so he let her speak. It didn't make him worry any less though and he stayed close, close enough to put himself in front of her, to pull her to safety if the need arose.

He put himself between her and the boy she'd called 'Kash' when he turned, wildly waving the gun in the direction of a young girl who'd just stumbled across them whilst looking for her father. He'd felt her take a step towards him and he'd put himself between her and the gun, she was the only person he cared about, he'd never be able to live with himself if she got hurt and he hadn't done everything he could to protect her.

He saw Kash drop the gun, watched as Zeke dived towards it and there was only one thing he could do. He threw himself to the floor with Big Mac, grabbing Zeke's wrists with one hand, picking up the gun with the other, just as the police raced around the corner.

He left Mac on the floor helping the police as he made his way back to Rita, flicking on the safety catch on the gun, checking it was safe as he shielded her body with his own, the soldier in him knowing he should never turn his back on a situation like this. He stood, the gun in his left hand, his right behind him, resting gently on Rita's hip, his thumb gently stroking the fabric of her uniform letting her know he was there, letting her know she was safe. He felt her wrap both her arms around his, her head falling against his shoulder as she closed her eyes and let out a quiet sigh of relief. He watched the police cuff the teen, one leading him away, the other coming to take the gun from him, and it was only then he turned to face Rita, "alright?" he asked.

She nodded, eyes closed as she relaxed into him, "yeah. I think so."

"Do you need to get checked over?"

Rita shook his head as it leant against Iain's chest, "I'm okay."

Iain nodded and kissed Rita's head, "if you're sure."

"I am" she said, savouring the feeling of being in Iain's arms.

Iain smiled softly, happy to hold Rita for as long as she needed him to, happy to provide the comfort she was so desperate for. She'd been his first thought when he'd found the bullet in the back of the ambulance, he'd never run so fast in his life, Rita the only thing on his mind. He needed to know she was safe. He needed to know she was okay.

He held her closely until he got called out to a shout, "take it easy yeah" he whispered as he kissed her head before leaving, "you've had a big shock, no one would mind if you need a few minutes to get yourself together.

They didn't see each other again until their shifts had finished, Iain walking over to her when he saw her coming out of the department, "there you are" he smiled, his hand coming to rest in the small of her back, "we're going for breakfast with Jack, sending him off in style, do you wanna come?" he asked as they walked over to the others. He'd never felt so guilty as he had when he'd heard about Mark, he knew he'd been an idiot ignoring her text, he knew he should have called her back, he wanted to make up for that, he never wanted her to feel like he didn't want her ever again.

"No thanks" Rita told him softly, grateful of the offer, "I'm done in, I need some rest."

"You okay?" he asked her quietly, gently stroking his fingers down her cheek.

"Yeah" she smiled, "just tired and I don't think I could smell all that fried food without wanting to heave."

"Do you want me to come home with you?"

"No, no, if you want to go, you go, give Jack my love yeah?"

"Yeah" Iain smiled, before kissing Rita's lips, "let me know if you need anything."

"Course" Rita returned the kiss, "see you later yeah" she smiled, blowing Iain another kiss before walking off in the direction of home, Iain heading off to join the others.

' _You don't mind me going out for breakfast do you? x x_ ' Rita's phone bleeped with a text from Iain less than five minutes later.

' _Of course not, I just feel exhausted and a bit sick. I'm going to try and have a cuppa and some toast then get straight into bed xx_ ' she replied, not wanting him to worry about her being home alone

' _Can I come round later? I'll brush my teeth before I get in bed so I don't smell like a fry up, and I'll do my best not to wake you x x_ '

Rita smiled at his reply, ' _Of course you can, just let yourself in whenever xx_ ' She'd given him a key a while ago, she didn't mind him coming round and it made sense, that, if their shifts finished at slightly different times, she could go home, have a shower, have a nap, without having to worry about letting Iain in when he arrived.

' _Okay, see you later then, sleep well Love x x_ '

' _Enjoy yourself, and I'll sleep better once you're here xx_ ' she replied before quickly sending another message, ' _But that doesn't mean you have to come over right now. You get some breakfast with everyone and enjoy yourself xx_ '

' _If you're sure? Let me know if there's anything you need me to bring over. And let me know if you start being sick please x x_ '

Rita laughed as she neared home, ' _That's the strangest request I've ever heard, but I will, I'm just queasy at the moment, I'm okay. I'm home now so stop worrying and have some fun, I'll see you later xx_ '

Iain's reply came quickly, ' _I'll always worry about you x x_ '

' _I know_ ' Rita typed out her reply as she kicked off her shoes and flicked on the kettle, ' _but right now there's nothing to worry about, I've made it home safely so you just enjoy yourself and I'll see you later xx_ '

Rita flicked through her post as she waited for the kettle to boil and for her toast to be ready, all junk mail and bills, nothing she couldn't sort out later.

She walked into her living room with her tea and toast, flicking on the tv to catch the end of the morning news, a wave of fatigue suddenly sweeping over her body. She couldn't be bothered to go to bed, right now, in her mind, climbing Everest would probably take as much effort as climbing the stairs so instead she pulled the thick throw from the back of the sofa and wrapped it around herself, she'd nap on the sofa for a while and go up to bed when Iain got here, when she'd got more energy.

She woke to the click of the lock, Iain slowly pushing open the door and closing it again gently, not wanting to let it slam and wake Rita "I'm awake".

He smiled softly as he walked into the living room to find her wrapped up in the blanket, still half asleep as the tv played quietly in the corner, "you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah" she smiled sleepily, "I was too tired to walk up the stairs."

Iain sat in the coffee table, leaning forward to kiss her forehead, "it must be hard work, growing a new person."

Rita smiled as she realised that her hand had drifted to her flat stomach in her sleep, "I guess so. I don't feel as sick now I've had a bit of sleep though."

"That's good" he smiled, "I'd kiss you but I don't want my bacon breath to make you feel sick again"

Rita laughed, "let's go upstairs, you can clean your teeth and we can go to bed."

"Okay" Iain smiled, carefully helping Rita to her feet and flicking off the TV, "want me to make you a fresh brew to take up?"

Rita nodded, "yeah, that'd be nice, thanks."

Iain pecked Rita's lips, his hand moving to rest on her stomach, "you and Junior go and get settled then, I'll be up in a minute."

Rita laughed, "Junior? It's the size of a kidney bean and you've named it already?"

"Of course" Iain laughed, "it's nicer than just calling him or her it all the time."

Rita placed her hand beside Iain's, "I still can't believe it's real."

Iain kissed her lips, "give it time, we've only known a week" he said softly, "wait until you can feel Junior wriggling and I'm getting up in the middle of the night to find things to satisfy your cravings."

"Yeah" Rita smiled, "I guess."

Iain kissed her again, "go on, you go and get in bed, I'll be up in a minute" he said, kissing Rita for a third time before heading into the kitchen with Rita's empty mug.

Rita dragged her tired body upstairs, "come on Junior" she said quietly, "you've got plenty of time to exhaust me later on, when you're bigger" she said, smiling to herself when she realised she was talking to her stomach, "look what Daddy's making me do" her smile only grew as that word slipped from her lips, 'Daddy' Iain was going to be a Daddy and she was going to be a Mummy. It had only been a week since she'd taken the pregnancy test and it still seemed so surreal to her, like it hadn't sunken in properly yet.

Her smile soon fell as she pushed open her bedroom door to find things thrown everywhere, her clothes emptied onto her bed, onto the floor. It was him, Mark. He'd been in her bedroom.

She couldn't stay there, she turned quickly, pushing past Iain at the top of the stairs, running into the bathroom where she fell to her knees in front of the toilet and began to heave.

"Rita" Iain frowned, going into her room to put the mugs down so he could go after her, "fuck" he mumbled, quickly putting the mugs on top of the chest of drawers and raced into the bathroom, gently rubbing circles on her back.

"It's him" she whispered, "he's been here."

"We're ringing the police Rita" Iain told her, "we're ringing the police and then we're going back to mine."

She nodded, "okay" she said weakly, not having the energy to argue with him. He was right anyway, the anonymous texts, the false complaints she could handle but this, this was too much.

She sat up once she thought she'd finished being sick, Iain's hand gently wrapping around her waist to rest on her stomach, "you're okay" he told her softly as she leaned into him, "you're safe now" he promise, gently kissing her neck, "and as long as I'm here Reet then he won't ever hurt you again.

Rita nodded again, she'd spent so long being terrified of Mark that it was hard to believe Iain but somehow she did, after today, when he put himself between her and a gun wielding teenager several times, when his only thought seemed to be to make sure she was safe, she believed him, she believed he'd do everything in her power to keep her and Junior safe from, not only Mark but anything else, "will you ring the police?" she asked him quietly.

"Of course" Iain agreed, kissing Rita's temple, "I'd do anything for you."


End file.
